A flag flies in front of the Fire Museum of Memphis, directly across the street from the city's tallest building, the vacant 100 North Main office tower where there is still no indication of imminent redevelopment. A Manhattan company appears to be in control of the building’s fate, but it’s unclear if conversion to apartments and a hotel is still the plan.(Photo: Jim Weber/The Commercial Appeal)Buy Photo

An affiliate of Townhouse Management Company, THM Memphis LLC, took charge in June of a $2.8 million loan that was declared in default last November.

THM Memphis bought out five entities that had combined in August 2015 to make a loan that IMH Memphis LLC used to buy the building. IMH planned 171 hotel rooms and 254 apartments but could never nail down financing.

Mitchel Maidman, Townhouse president and chief executive of the real estate property management and development company, declined comment through the firm’s Memphis attorney.

Since the loan was assigned to THM Memphis, crews have secured the building, erecting a plywood barrier around the perimeter to protect passersby and keep people out. The building had been surrounded by a chain link fence since early 2016, but it wasn't keeping out trespassers.

The work was part of an effort to comply with an Environmental Court order to resolve code violations.

“We’re taking it step by step to make sure the building stays secure and that they’ve met all requirements of the … court order,” assistant city prosecutor Kenya Hooks said.

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IMH Memphis has been threatened with foreclosure for nonpayment of the loan, but the lender has agreed to a series of delays.

The latest foreclosure sale on the steps of the Judge D’Army Bailey Courthouse was scheduled for Wednesday.

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At the vacant 100 North Main office tower, the city's tallest building, there is still no indication of imminent redevelopment. A Manhattan company appears to be in control of the building’s fate, but it’s unclear if conversion to apartments and a hotel is still the plan.(Photo: Jim Weber/The Commercial Appeal)

It has been delayed until Sept. 20 at the lender’s request, said Billy Moss, an attorney with the Harris Shelton law firm.

Two people involved in the IMH Memphis plan, Eli Freiden and John Bartle, were also key figures in a financially troubled senior residential community in Tampa, Florida, which filed for bankruptcy reorganization last September.

The Downtown Memphis Commission, which provides incentives for most big Downtown projects, has not received an application for 100 North Main, but the agency is planning a beautification project at the site.

The commission hired an artist, Siphne Aaye, to plan a mural on the plywood and has invited the public to help paint it next week.

Volunteers can sign up for painting shifts from 4-6 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. Aug. 23, 24 and 25. It will be capped by a Paint the Block Party at 4 p.m. on Aug. 25.

The latest transaction on 100 North Main was recorded with the Shelby County Register of Deeds in late July as an assignment of a promissory note, deed of trust and other loan documents by multiple loan partners.

They were Shadow Tree Income Fund B, a Delaware limited partnership; and New York limited liability companies THM Funding, managed by Maidman; Conrad Partners; Keiter Group and Brous Memphis.